FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2020
Contact: Nikki Metzgar, nmetzgar@napawf.org

(WASHINGTON)—In Georgia, Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Indiana, the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) engaged historically ignored Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women voters to ensure they had access to the ballot box. Altogether, 90 percent of the eligible voters we spoke to through our Integrated Voter Engagement (IVE) program made the commitment to vote this election season and those commitments are reflected in the turnout numbers. The political data firm TargetSmart reported on Monday that Asian American voters had already exceeded their total 2016 vote in every single southern and sunbelt presidential battleground state.

 NAPAWF Executive Director Sung Yeon Choimorrow issued the following statement:

“We knew heading into this election that it was going to take longer to count the votes and verify a winner. Every eligible voter should have their voice heard and we are calling on election officials to count every vote. 

What we do know now is that Asian American and Pacific Islander voters turned out in full force. Voter suppression has been a reality for our communities throughout the history of this country. People waited in hours-long lines to vote and double and triple checked their mail-in ballots, because they knew that people in power were looking for any excuse not to count their vote. These obstacles to casting a ballot should not exist. But record turnout this year in spite of the barriers means that AAPI women voters are determined to make change and we’re not going to give up the fight for the political, social, and economic power we need to thrive.

Last night, reproductive rights won in Colorado, where voters defeated a proposition to limit access to abortion. Ninety three percent of AAPI women voters say that a woman being able to control if, when, and how she has children provides benefits to both individuals and society. Motivated by their values, AAPI women voters showed that we are an increasingly powerful force that political leadership can no longer ignore.”

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The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is the only multi-issue, progressive, community organizing and policy advocacy organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls in the U.S. NAPAWF’s mission is to build collective power so that all AAPI women and girls can have full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities.